Brian Hamilton founded Inmates to Entrepreneurs and works alongside Lawrence Carpenter, who serves as the Chairman of the program board.  Inmates to Entrepreneurs was created to provide an opportunity to those judicially involved and struggle to find employment. When individuals get released from incarceration, employment opportunities are scarce. The stigma placed on individuals with a criminal […]

NEW YORK (WABC) — On this episode of Here and Now, Brian Hamilton and Claudia Shivers from ‘Free Enterprise,’ the TV show featuring the real-life stories of former inmates turning their lives around by starting their own businesses. Plus, building on more than five decades of service, how the Harlem Commonwealth Council is helping to […]

FALLS CHURCH, Va.—GTL, a trusted partner that connects those affected by incarceration with the resources and support necessary to achieve success, today announced that it is expanding its rollout of the Brian Hamilton Foundation’s online entrepreneurship course, Starter U, on tablets across the country. GTL provides over 200,000 tablets to incarcerated individuals in correctional facilities […]

Operation Jump Start is being hosted by the United Service Organizations (USO), supported by the Brian Hamilton Foundation, on September 29 and 30 to bring together military service members and their families to help them prepare for the transition to civilian life following their service to the nation. All active duty, National Guard members, and their families can […]

Jul. 20—HIGH POINT — Claudia Shivers admits she doesn’t watch a lot of television, especially on Saturday mornings, but she’ll be watching this Saturday. And drinking coffee. The 46-year-old High Point woman — owner of the Queen Coffee Bean online coffee company — will be featured on the ABC program “Free Enterprise,” which tells the […]

Landscaping was hardly his lifelong dream. As a teenager, Alton Lucas believed basketball or music would pluck him out of North Carolina and take him around the world. In the late 1980s, he was the right-hand man to his musical best friend, Youtha Anthony Fowler, who many hip hop and R&B heads know as DJ […]

When Lawrence Carpenter was released from prison in 2001, he was determined to make a better life for himself and his family. Yet he knew that having a criminal record would make it tough to find a job. “I shouldn’t have to live in poverty for the rest of my life because I made a […]

(WTNH) — Finding the road to redemption: we get some advice on the topic from a familiar face in Connecticut politics. Twice convicted former Connecticut Governor John Rowland – who resigned from office 17 years ago – has remained off the radar in recent years. But this week, Rowland gave the keynote address to graduates […]

WASHINGTON (7News) — ABC recently launched a new show called ‘Free Enterprise.’ In the series, Host Brian Hamilton and a team help former inmates turn their lives around. Hamilton joined us along with Chris Parker, a DC native who recently graduated from Hamilton’s “Inmates To Entrepreneurs” Program. The program recently opened to DC residents. It offers […]

What are the absolutely essential ingredients for being a successful entrepreneur? To me, assuming someone has even a base level of talent, a person’s desire to run a business would be the most important factor to their success. It sounds so simple, but if someone has a strong “why” behind what they do, there is an almost unstoppable […]